Milton
So I adopted an eleven-month old long-haired dachshund from Dachshund Rescue and he moved right into the book:
Shar turned around and Sam had his head up, the way Wolfie lifted his head when he was listening. She listened, too, but there was nothing except faint laughter from the street and the soft sounds of the night. “What?” she said but he had already turned around and was going back down the alley, past the courtyard of Abby’s bakery, and she followed him until he stopped at a large closed Dumpster.
“That’s it,” Wolfie said to him, and he nodded and lifted the Dumpster lid with one hand to look inside.
“What’s it?” she said to Wolfie, and Sam reached into the Dumpster and pulled out a plastic grocery bag, full of something . . . moving. Shar stepped back and Sam let the lid fall as he carefully opened the bag and reached inside.
“Help,” something cried faintly, and she went closer as he pulled out a little red-brown dog with floppy ears. “Help,” it said again and she reached out without thinking and took it from him, cradling it in her arms.
“It’s okay,” she whispered, stroking it. “It’s okay. You’re okay now.”
“WHO DID THIS THING?” Sam said, and she looked up, tears in her eyes even though she was angry, too.
“Some college kid,” she said. “They get puppies and kittens and when the year ends they just leave them, sometimes at the animal shelter and sometimes they just turn them loose. It’s awful, but this . . .” She looked down at the dog in her arms, its dark little eyes imploring her in the dim light of the alley as it wept. “You are going to be just fine, now,” she said patting him. “You’re safe. You’re coming home with us.”
“I WILL FIND WHO DID THIS,” Sam said.
“No, you won’t,” Shar said. “Whoever it is, is gone. Now we have to get this little guy some food. Come on.”
“Food,” the puppy cried, and Shar cooed and cuddled him all the way home, while Wolfie trotted at her side, barking up, “You’re okay! You’re all right now!” until Shar shushed him.
At home, she put him down in front of Wolfie’s food dish and water bottle, and he went to town while she patted him all over, checking him out for injuries. His little ribs stuck out more than they should, but otherwise he was in good shape.
“He’s a dachshund,” she told Sam as he gobbled so fast he choked and then gobbled again, “probably about a year old. See how his chest hasn’t dropped yet? He’s still growing.”
“Good eater,” Wolfie said, watching his food disappear.
“We have more food,” Shar told him, but she pulled the puppy back after a couple of minutes, afraid he’d explode. “You can have more later,” she said as she brought him back into her arms. “There’s always food here. Really.” She patted his back and he
burped and sighed. “What’s your name, little guy?”
“Milton,” the puppy said.
“There’s your first clue,” Shar said. “His owner was an English major.”
“Why would someone do this?” Sam said, and she looked up to see the distress on his face.
Slayer of Demons, Greatest of Kings, she thought. Savior of Puppies.
“Dogs aren’t sacred to us,” she said, holding Milton close to her. “Well, not to all of us.” She looked down at Milton, his eyes half closed now that he was stuffed to the gills. “Some of us still worship them.”
Sam reached down and she gave Milton to him, struck for the moment at the gentleness in his huge hands as he lifted seven pounds of puppy.
“Are you all right?” he asked, and Milton threw up on the Dick shirt.
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Perfect, perfect moment. Also perfect Milton.
I so hope someone buys the rights and makes this into a film. It would be a beautiful thing to see.
Milton is so adorable his picture makes me feel all smushy inside.
And may I say that there should be a special level in hell for people who think that animals are a throw-away commodity. (Yes, I know it happens a lot, but I don’t have to like it!)
Perfect. That was great. You do people and animals together so well. Perfect ending, too. It’s what would probably happen in real life.
“smushy inside” - yep that’s the feeling I get reading the milton and veronica chronicles at Argh. And this little vignette is too precious. “Savior of Puppies”!
Perfect mix of ooey gooey and whoops!
OH. I loved it!
Poor poor Milton-in-the-book.
Happy happy Milton-in-Jenny’s-House!
I would adore this book based solely on this moment.
It’s all icing from here.
Okay, did anybody besides me get teary at this scene?
And loved the “There’s your first clue” line. Perfect snark.
Pam W. asked: Okay, did anybody besides me get teary at this scene?
I did, Pam. I once brought home a starving Irish setter that had been abused and abandoned. Fed him up and hugged him even after he threw up all over my living room from frantically eating too much too fast. Bailey lived, with me, another 10 years. I loved that dog. This scene touched my heart and my memories.
Well done, Jenny.
I’ve said this before, but the way you write dachshund characters is awesome. Not that the rest of your characters aren’t excellently done, but there’s absolute magic in your dachshund creations.
Oh beautiful. And I agree with Sam - whoever dumps animals in dumpsters or anywhere else MUST BE FOUND and dealt with accordingly.
A long time friend of my parents took a short term job one winter as a garbage man and found a puppy - half dead from cold and starvation - in a cardboard box out with the trash. He reported the people whose house the box was in front of just in case it was them and not someone who had dumped the little guy at the first available house.
Puppy lived a long and happy life at Dan’s house.
Great! The throwing-up part in particular. I love it. This scene completely hooks me.
Okay that made me cry. I know it happens (I watch Animal Planet too) but I don’t have to like it. Right now I have the picture of a puppy from Petfinder on my desktop. He has already been adopted but he is beautiful to look at. I have a dog and I will be getting another in the near future so I am looking but have not been caught up in the multiple dog rescue epidemic…yet.
I can’t wait to read the finished product.
Slayer of Demons, Greatest of Kings, she thought. Savior of Puppies.
I’m with you Cary. That is the perfect line.
Those eyes!
You just can’t help but feed him.